Anticreeping device for railroads.



P. W. MOSHER.

ANTIGREBPING DEVICE FOR RAILROADS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14, 1914.

1, 1 21,752. Patented Dec.22,1914.

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PETER V]. MOSHER, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, ASSIG-NOR TO THE P. 85 M. 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ANTICREEIPING DEVICE FOR RAILROADS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

Application filed January 14, 1914. Serial No. 812,012.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER W. MosrrnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stockton, in the county of San Joaquin and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Anticrceping Devices for Railroads; and I do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the same, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in anti-creeping devices adapted to be attached to the rails of a railway for the purpose of resisting the tendency of said rails to creep longitudinally.

Anti-creepers in general, are aided in maintaining a firm grip on the rail base by virtue of the creeping tendency or thrust which they transmit to the cross-tie, which thrust tends to maintain the parts of the anti-creeper in their most effective relative position. The pressure of the anti-creeper against the tie may be relaxed, however, under certain conditions due to rearward movement of the rail. Such movement may be caused by contraction due to cold for eX- ample. Under these circumstances, the pans of the anti-creeper may eventually relax their hold on each other and on the rail base. In order to prevent such loosening of the parts, various auxiliary locking devices have been proposed, to hold the parts of the anti-creeper together after they have been applied to the rail base. WVhere looking devices have been used heretofore, the anti-creepers have usually been of the type wherein a yoke and a wedge are provided, the wedge being received within one of the jaws of the yoke, and being arranged at the side of the rail base in contact with the edge thereof. After the wedge has been driven as far as possible between the edge of the rail base and the jaw of the yoke, a vertically arranged bolt or pin is employed to lock the wedge in place. The locking device being well to one side of the rail base and projecting above the latter, may be conveniently installed and is readily accessible. As distinguished from the above mentioned type of anti-creeper, however, there are certain other types in which the wedging takes place beneath the rail base, the wedging parts being thus comparatively inaccessible.

One object of-my invention is to provide an improved anti-creeper so designed that the parts engaging beneath the rail base may be elfectively locked by a third element which may be applied in a convenient manner despite the comparative inaccessibility of said parts. 1

Another object is to provide an improved locking means of this character which shall securely lock said parts against relative movement in a direction to decrease the hold of the anti-creeper on the rail base while permitting movement in a direction to increase said hold.

A further object is to provide a locking device which so cooperates with the parts locked as to tend to draw said parts into firmer engagement with the rail base.

An additional object is to provide a looking pin which may be bent to prevent accidental withdrawal thereof.

On the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is an end elevation of an anticreeper which embodies my invention, the rail being shown in section, and the anticreeper being partially broken away to show the locking key in position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the anti-creeper as it would appear when in locking operative position with my improved locking key secured therein. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my improved locking key.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the railway tie and the numeral 2 the rail. The anti-creeper consists of two clamping members 3l, said members each having jaws which grip the opposite flanges of the rail, one of said members having a shoulder 5 which engages the tie 1, which engagement prevents the movement of the anti-creeper. The two parts of the anti-creeper have firm, interlocking wedging engagement beneath the rail base by virtue of an inclined groove 6 in the upper face of the clamp 3 which is adapted to receive a tongue 7 on the clamp 4, such tongue and groove engaging each other at an angle to the center line of the rail 2-, whereby when the clamp 4 is engaged with the clamp 3 by means of the under cut engaging walls of the tongue and groove, and the smaller member is driven forward, that is, toward the tie, the two members will interlock firmly and will grip the rail base to prevent movement of the rail through the anti-creeper, the creeping thrust being transmitted to and resisted by the tie. The anticreeper involves certain other details of con struction rendering it efficient for the purposes for which it is designed, but I do not claim any part of the anti-creeper structure 7967 '86 as mine, hence no detailed description of the same is entered into, the above description being given merely to illustrate the noval combination and cooperation of anti-creeper parts and locking key.

My improved construction in the form illustrated may be said, generally speaking,

to consist of the two clamping members just described, together with a locking pin arranged transversely beneath the rail base, passing through openings in 'thefwalls of said groove, and cooperating with said tongue or rib to lock the members against relative movement in one direction, but not in the other. The construction described more in detail is as follows: In'each side of the groove 6 I provide an orifice 8, which orifices are alined and positioned at substantially a point just to the. rear of the clamp 4 when itis in its engaging position. The orifice 8 in the outer side of thegroove 6 is in a slightly higherplane than the orifice Sin the inner side. When the clamp 4 is driven into engaging position with the clamp 3 and is securely locked on the rail 2 in its innerino'stposition,'a tapered pin or key 9 is then inserted through the orifices 8, which key will engage the outerend of the clamp 4 and prevent a rearward movement thereof whereby the parts cannot become loosened. No obstruction is offered to a further forward movement of the clamp 4, however. 7 In other words, a slight creeping of the rail may serve to draw the two parts of the anti-creeper into firmer engagement with the rail base, but under no circumstances, can they be moved to a position'of less effectiveness as long as the pin is in place. I I p The inner. end of the key 9 may bebentas shown in Fig. l to lock it into position. Should the member 4 move into closer enagement with the member 3 and-the rail 2, the fact that the key 9 inclinesdownwardly in its engaging position coupled with the fact that it is tapered will permit it to move downwardly into'the orifices 8 and thus follow up any movement o'f the member 4, thus continuallyengaging the end ofthe member 4 to prevent any looseness-thereof.

It will thus'be 'seen'thatby the'improved combination and coeperation of parts just described, the rail anchor, as initially installed, has its parts located in as effective gripping position as possible under the circumstances, after which relative movement thereof to a position of less eifectiveness, is prevented by the locking pin. A further tightening of the parts, however, either by slight creeping of the rail, or by driving the smaller member farther ahead, is possible. The key being wedge shaped, tends, when driven to position to force said smaller member ahead, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the wedging' engagement of the parts, and hence of their gripping on the *rail base. If the distant end ot the pin is bent, accidental withdrawal thereof is prevented, although it is still possible to drive said pin in farther whenever the parts of the rail anchor have been moved to a more effective gripping position as just explained.

NVhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred'construction of the device, still in practice, such deviations from such detail maybe resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my 'invention'what I'cla'im as newand,useful and de sire to secure by Letters Patent is;

1. A device of "the character described 2. An anti-creeper comprising a pair of members, each having a jaw for gripping one side of a'railbase, said members having interlocking wedging engagement beneath said r'ail base,"and a locking pin coeperating with said members beneath 'said'i'ail base to prevent'a loosening of the grip of the anticreeper on said rail.

3. anti-creeper comprising two rail gripping members and a locking pin therefor, the larger of said members having a diagonally arranged groove in its upper face, and havingalso a rail abuttingfia'nge,

the smallenof's'a-id members'over-lying said 'larger'member atsald groove, and having a downwardly projecting diagonally arranged rib received within said groove, whereby wedging surfaces beneath the r'ail'base are pi'o'vided'to insure an increase'd'grip on the rail basewh'en" said smaller member is forced forwardly, said Jpin passing through openings in'the walls of said groove'substantially transversely thereto, 'and'engagingsaid rib to prevent rearward movement of said smaller member, 'but not forward movement thereof.

4. In combination, a plurality of members, two of which have jaws which grip the sides of the rail base, certain of said members having relatively movable parts which engage beneath the rail base to draw said jaws toward each other upon proper relative movement, and a tapering pin cooperating with said engaging parts and tending to draw said jaws closer together when driven further into place.

5. In combination, a pair of rail gripping members which engage each other beneath the rail base somewhat to one side of the central axis thereof, said engagement being effected by a downwardly projecting rib on one of said members which is received within a corresponding groove in the other of said members, the walls of said groove having a pair of openings therein, the outer one of which is higher than the inner one, and a pin passing through said openings and 00- operating with said rib to lock said members against an unlocking movement, said pin being inclined somewhat downwardly and arranged substantially transversely with respect to said rail axis whereby it is accessible from the side of the rail and may be readily driven into place and have its small end bent to prevent accidental withdrawal.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER WV. MOSHER. Vitnesses STEPHEN N. BLEWETT, FLOYD M. BLANOHARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

